Wood heel turning machines



y 1958 E. E. JOINER, JR 2,833,322

woon HEEL TURNING MACHINES Filed Sept. 28, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1' InI/en to) Edgar E Joiner," Jr

' A I 6y Filed Sept. 28, 1955 E. E. JOINER, JR

WOOD HEEL TURNING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 6, 1958 E. E. JOINER, JR 2,333,322

woos HEEL TURNING MACHINES Filed Sept. 28 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Y Inventor Edgar E J0me; Jr

May 6, 1958 JOINERLJR 2,833,322

WOOD HEEL TURNING MACHINES FilGd Sept. 28, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor I B his ,1 I

Edgar E Joiner," J2

United States Patent WOOD HEEL TURNING MACHINES Edgar E. Joiner, Jr., Andover, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 28, 1955, Serial No. 537,251

4 Claims. (Cl. 144-143) This invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of wood heels and is illustrated as embodied in a machine for turning wood heels. 7 t In, the turning of wood heel blocks to form high styled Louis heels it has been found desirable to trim the rear and side faces of the blocks by roughing and finishing cuts, respectively, in order to insure that said faces shall, after the usual sanding operation, be smooth enough to have covers applied to them or to be cover sprayed.

;In turning-wood heel blocks by the use of hand operated wood heel turning machines of well-known types it is common practice to rough turn a run of one or more barrels of wood heel blocks with rub collars of these machines set in predetermined positions and to finish turn said run of blocks after manual resetting of the rub collars. This practiceis slow and expensive and in cases where the partially turnedheel blocks are not arranged in substantially the same positions in the machine that they were during the effecting ofthe roughing turning, the blocks are oftenspoiled. V g p g It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine by the use of which high styled Louis'heels may be quickly and effectively turned with one jacking of the wood heel blocks. With the above object in view there is provided a wood heel turning machine comprising a rotary cutter, a rub'member arranged adjacent to the cutterand movable between two predetermined active positions, a jack having a pattern secured to it, means for clamping a heel block in the jack, means for mounting said jack for simultaneous movement about axes which are parallel and one of whichis movable with relation to theother to allow the pattern traversingly to engage the rub member to guide the heel block in a predeterminded path whereby to trim a predetermined amount of material from the heel block and, in accordance with a means effective to'move the rub member, which has the' form of a collar, between forward and rearward positions. By the use of the above machine the wood heel block can be quickly. and effectively trimmed. by roughing and finishing cuts to its finished shape with one jacking of the block.

The present invention consists in theabove features and in novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration, said invention being fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the illustrative wood heel turning machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a lonigtudinal section through a fluid pressure control valve forming part of mechanism adapted simul- Ice taneously to shift a pair of rub collars of the illustrative machine between two predetermined operating positions;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1 showing, in detail, one of the rub collars and portions of the mechanism for moving the collar into different active positions;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the construction shown in Fig. 6 is a view on the line VI-VI of-Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view showing in perspective a wood heel block which is to be turned by the use of the illustrative machine;

Figs. 8 and 9 show in perspective the block of Fig. 7 after it has been trimmed in the machine by first and second roughing cuts; and a 4 Figs. 10 and 11 are perspective views showing the block of Fig. 9 after it has been trimmed in the machine by first and second finishing cuts.

The present invention is illustrated as embodied in a manually actuated wood heel turning machine, a substantial portion of which is disclosed in detail in United States Letters Patent No. 1,488,534, granted April 1, 1924 on an application, filed in the name of Arthur E. Folsom, et al. and with reference to removing, by two roughing cuts 20, 20* (Figs. 8 and 9) and two finishing cuts 22, 22* (Figs. 10 and 11), material from a Louis wood heel block.24 to form a turned block 25. The turned block 25 is subsequently concaved, sanded and covered to pro duce a finished heel (not shown). -1

The machine comprises a pair of vertical spindles 28, 28 which are rotatably mounted for movement about axes 30, 30 respectively, in bearings 32 secured to a main frame 34 having pairs of upper and lower decks 36, 36 Secured by upper and lower clamp collars 38, 38 to the upper. end portions of the spindles. 28, 28 are pairs of blades 40, 40 which have cutting edges 42, 42 and constitute cutters 44, 44 said cutter being driven clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, as viewed from above, by electric motors 46, 46 Arranged at the lower ends of the cutters 44, 44 and mounted for movement into different positions in horizontal guideways 48 formed in the upper decks 36 of the main frame 34 are rub collars 50, 50 having forward cylindrical faces 52, 52 which are identical to each other and curve horizontally generally about the axes 30, 30 respectively.

Secured to a vertical shaft 54 rotatably mounted in bearings 56 of the main frame 34 is a bracket or carrier 58 having bearing bosses in bores of which a jack shaft 60 is mounted for rotation and vertical sliding movement. Normally secured to but initially adjustable vertically upon the main frame 34 are upper and lower brackets 62, 64 upon which are pivotally mounted for initial angular adjustment upper and lower tracks 66, 68. Formed integral with the upper end of the jack shaft 60 is a platform 70 carrying a pin 72 having journaled on it a jack or work holder 74 upon which the wood 'heel block 24 to be turned is positioned and clamped, a lower face' 76 of the jack being adapted to bear against the upper track 66 as the jack is swung with a pattern or cam 78 pinned to the jack shaft in engagement with one of the faces 52, 52 of the rub collars 50, 50 as will be herein explained, simultaneously about axes S0 and 82 of the shafts 54, 60 which are arranged in parallel relation and are parallel to the axes of rotation 30, 30 of the cutter spindles 28, 28 The jack shaft 60 has secured to its lower end a follower arm 84 which bears upon the lower track 68 and'by its engagement with this track varies the position of the jack 74 heightwise as the jack is swung simultaneously about the axes 80, 82 with.

the pattern 78 secured to said jack shaft in engagement with one of the rub collars 50, 50 The axis 82 may be described as extending generally through the heel block 24-positioned-upon the jack 74, which is mounted about an axis disposed at substantially right angles to The jack 74 is provided withia handle 86 which is swung counterclockwise, as viewedin Fig. 1, by the operatortoclamp in the jack the wood heel blank 24 positioned lengthwise upon a platform '88 of the jack'by a breastgage 90 and positioned widthwise of said platform by the operator. 'The wood'heel block '24, clamped in the jack 74 and guided by the engagement of the pattern 78 with the faces 52,528 of the rub collars 50, 50, respectively, isswungsimultaneously about the parallel axes 80;82 and successivelyclockwise and counterclockwise by the operator as viewed in Fig. 2 to cause the block to traverse the,;cutters-44,- 44 respectively. The operator also grips the upper:.end of the jack 74- in effecting movement of the heel block 24 in successive traverses past the cutters 44,44 as the block is rotated about the parallel axes 80,182'in paths determined by the shape of the pattern 78 which slides along the cylindrical faces 52, 52 of the rub'collars 50, 50. The wood heel block 24 is commonly presented to the cutter 44, as illustrated in Figs. 9 and 1-0 of the above-mentioned Patent 1,488,534, the turningcut starting at the right lateral breast edge of the heel block and progressing to the rear end of said block-to produce the cut 20, the block then being presented to' the cutter 44, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of said patent, the turning out starting at the left breast edge of the heel block and progressing to the rear end of said block to produce the .cut 20. 74, as above described, it will be apparent that as the jack 'is rotated from the starts of its trimming cuts it is raised by reason of the engagement of the follower arm 84with the lower track 68 and pivots about the pivot pin 72 by reason :of vthe engagement of the face 76 of the jack withthe upper track 66 such movements making it possibleto form a fully styled Louis heel the side and rear facesof which are undercut at graduated angles.

The shape imparted to the heel block 24 during its movements. pastthe cutters 44, 44 dependspartly upon the shape of the pattern 78; partly upon the shape of the cutting'edges 42, 42 f the cutters as well-as partly upon the adjusted positions of the upper and lower tracks 66, 68 and the amount of material trimmed from the heel block'as'it traverses the cutter depends upon the settings :ofthe rub collars 50, 50 with relation'to the axes of rotation 30, 30 of the cutters.

The guideways 48 inwhich the rub collars 50, 50 are slidable between their rear or finishing positions and their forward or roughing positions are formed partly by the upper decks 36 of the main frame 34and partly by guide plates 92 which are secured by screws 94 to said decks. Securedby screws 95 to the rear portions of the rub collars 50, 50 are rabbeted lugs 96 forming between themvertically disposed channels 98 adapted to receive T-shaped couplings 100 threaded onto the forward ends By mounting the jack 6 of pistonrods 102slidable in passages 104 of multipart cylinders 1050f air motors 106. Secured 'to the piston rods 102 and slidable in bores .108 of the cylinders 105 are pistons 110. Bases of the cylinders 105 are slidable in guideways 112 of the lower decks 36 of the main frame 34 and have threadedinto them screws 114 rotatably mounted in journal blocks 116 screwed to the main frame and threaded into bronze bearings 115 carried by said bases. The air motors 106 may be moved to their desired positions along the guideways 112 by' rotating the screws 114 and may be secured in saidpositions by theu'se of clamp screws 118 which are threaded into the main frame 34-and extend, respectively, through 'elon gated'slots 120 in the bases of the'cylinders 105'and have shoulders which bear against the upper faces of said bases. The guideways 112 are parallel to the rub collar guideways 48 and have their lengthwise dimensions disposed at approximately right angles to the axes of rotation 30, 30 of the cutters 44, 44 The above described sliding connections between the rabbeted lugs 96 and the couplings are provided in order that the mechanism for automatically moving the rub collars 50, 50 into different operative positions may be readily incorporated in machines in which the distances between the upper and lower decks 36, 36 of the main frame 34 vary.

Threaded onto the front-and rear portions of the piston rods 102 are front and rear stop nuts 122, 124, the front nut being in forced engagement with the coupling 100 and serving as a locknut therefor and the rear nut being secured in its adjusted position on the connecting rod by a locknut 123. The pistons'110 and accordingly the piston rods 102 are moved forward (that is to the right as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5) and rearward in response to fluid under pressure admitted through ports 126, 128 open to lines 130, 132. p

In initially setting up the machine the operator threads the nuts 122 onto the piston rods 102 and then turns the rod into the T-shaped couplings 100, the nuts 122 then being turned against the associated couplings to serveas locknuts. 'The operator then moves the piston rods 102 rearward-in the cylinder bores 108 of the air motors 106 untilthe nuts 122 engage faces 144 of the motors, the pistons at this time being located at about the longitudinal central portions of the bores 108. The nuts 124 and locknuts 123 are then threaded onto the piston rods 102, said nuts being so positioned on said rods that when 'the' nuts 122 engage the faces 144 of the motors 106, the nut 124 is spaced a predetermined distance away from a stop face 134 of the associated motorysaid distance being equal to the desired distance'D between theforwar'd elements of the cylindrical faces-52, 52' of the rub collars 50, 50 in their roughing andfinishing positions respectively. The air motors 106 are then positioned in the guideways 112 with their associated nuts 122 in engagement with the faces 144 of the housings and'are then clamped in said guideways by the clamp screws 118 so that the forward elements of the cylindrical faces 52, 52 of the rub collars 50, 50 are in the proper positions to effect the desired finishing cuts 22, 22* on the heel block.

-When air under pressure is applied to the faces 138 of the pistons 110 in response to movement of the lever 135 ofa valve 136 to its full line position shown in Fig-3 the rub collars 50, 50* are moved to their forward or roughing positions determined by the engagement of the nuts 124 with the faces 134 of the air motor 106, the machine thus being set to form the roughing cuts '20, 20 upon the wood heel block. When air under pressure 'is applied'against the faces 140 of the pistons 110 in-response to movement of the 1ever135' to its dash line position the-rub collars 50, 50 are'moved to their'rearwardor finishing positions determined by the engagementof the nuts 122 with the stop faces 144 of the cylinder105;'the machine being thus set to form the finishing cuts 22, 22. l

The valve 136 may 'be of any 4-way commercial type andicomprises a casing 146 provided with an inlet port 148 whichis connected to'a'line 150 communicating'with a source (not shown) of fluid'under pressure and an exhaust port 152 which is open to'fluid under low or atmospheric pressure. The casing-146 is also provided with ports 154, 156 connected by the lines 130,132 to the ports 126, 128 "of the air motors'106. Slidingly mounted inthe casing 146 is'a' plunger 158 having a pair of spools 160,*162 which, when in their positions shown inFig. 3,"allow=high-,pressure fluid toflowfrom the line 150'tothe lines 130 thus causingfluid,underpressure to be applied against the. faces 138 of the pistons 1I0:to maintain the nuts 124=against the faces.134 of the cylinders 105 and thus to'retain the rubcollars 50, 50".in their forward positions readily-to cause the roughing cuts20, 20 to" be effectedwhen the wood heel'block 24 is moved in succession past the cutters 44, 44*. The lever 135 is journaled in the casing 146 and has secured to it a disk 166, provided with a recess for receiving a flange of the plunger 158, the lever, when in its dash positiom allowing high-pressure fluid to be available forthe lines 132 and accordingly for the faces 140 of the pistons 110 to cause said pistons to move rearward until the nuts 122 engage the shoulders 144 of the cylinder 105, the rub collars thus being in their rearward positions to cause the finishing cuts 22, 22 to be formed on the rough turned Wood heel block moved past the cutters 44, 44 The plunger 158 is held in-its two positions by a springpressed conical detent 165 which is engaged by a roll 167 carried by the disk 168. The valve 136 is preferably positioned on top of a dust collector 168 between the cutter spindles 28, 28* so that the operator can readily swing the lever 135 between its full and dash-line positions at the ends of the roughing and finishing cuts, respectively, on the wood heel block.

The Wood heel block 24, preparatory to being turned, is manually placed on the platform 88 of the jack or holder 74 or in a jack of an improved type such as, for example, that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,787,642, granted January 6, 1931 on an application filed in the name of Willard N. Sawyer, with a breast of the heel in engagement with the heel gage 90, the block being centralized on the platform by the operator. The handle 86 of the jack 74 is then depressed to clamp the block 24 in said jack, the rub collars 50, 50 at this time being in their forward or roughing positions by reason of the lever 135 of the valve 136 having been moved to its full-line position after forming the cut 22 during the turning of the preceding wood heel block.

In making the roughing cut 20 the operator usually grips the handle 86 with his right hand and the top of the jack with his left hand so as to move the pattern 78 against the rub collar 50, the jack handle 86 being swung to the right end of the cam track 66, as viewed in plan,

and approximately parallel to the front of the machine.

The jack 74 and accordingly the wood heel block 24 are then rotated clockwise, as viewed in plan, traversingly past the cutter 44, the handle 86 being moved clockwise, the wood heel block 24 rotating simultaneously about the axes 80, 82 of the vertical shafts 54, 60, respectively, as it is raised heightwise by the lower track 68 and is tilted about the axis of the pin 72 by the upper track 66 so as to effect the roughing cut 20, the cut progressing from a line 170 at the breast of the heel block 24 and finishing at a line 172 at the rear end of said block. The operator then grips the handle 86 with his left hand and the upper end of the jack 74 with his right hand, the jack being moved counterclockwise from a position in which the handle is swung to the extreme left and parallel with the front of the machine, as viewed in plan, thus causing the wood heel block 24 to traverse the cutter 44 to effect the second roughing cut 20 and thus to trim the heel to the form shown in Fig. 9. As the operator completes the second rough trimming cut 20 he moves, usually with his right hand, the lever 135 from its full-line to its dash-line position thereby causing the rub collars 50 50 to be automatically moved, through mechanism above described, to their rearward positions, the finishing operations being performed in a similar manner in two steps to trim the wood heel block in successive steps to provide the cuts 22, 22 shown in Figs. 10 and 11 respectively. At the end of the second finishing cut 22 the operator moves with his left hand the lever 135 of the valve 136 back to its full-line position with the result that the rub collars 50, 50 are automatically moved back to their retracted or forward positions.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for use in the manufacture of heels, a cutter rotatable about an axis, an abutment, a jack for 'a heel block, mechanism for positioning the block in and axis, said means comprising a cam cooperating with the abutment to control said bodily movementof the jack at right angles to the axis of rotation of the cutter, a second cam, said means also comprising a member movable with the jack and cooperating with said second cam to control said bodily swinging movement of the jack, a pair of stops, and power operated means for moving the abutment between two different operating positions determined by said stops.

2. In a machine for use in the manufacture of heels, a cutter rotatable about an axis, a rub collar which is arranged at one end of the cutter and is curved about said axis, a jack, a pattern secured to the jack, means for clamping a heel block in the jack, means for mounting the jack for simultaneous rotation about two spaced parallel axes which are parallel to the axis of rotation of the cutter and one of which extends generally heightwise through the heel clamped in the jack whereby to guide the blank in a predetermined path determined by the sliding engagement of the pattern against the rub collar as the block traverses the cutter whereby to trim a predetermined amount of material from the block in accordance with the position of the collar, a pair of stops, power means for moving the rub collar toward and away from the axis of rotation of the cutter into two different operating positions which are determined by the stops to regulate the amount of material trimmed from the block, and a valve for controlling said power means.

3. In a machine for use in the manufacture of heels, a fixed frame, a pair of cutters rotatably supported upon said frame for movement about parallel axes respectively, a holder for a wood heel block, a pattern secured to the holder, a carrier mounted on the frame for pivotal movement about an axis, a rub collar positioned at an end of each cutter, said rub collars being curved about the axes of the cutters, means for mounting the holder upon the carrier for movement about an axis which is spaced from and is parallel to the axis about which the carrier is moved and is adapted to be swung into positions in which the pattern traversingly engages the collars successively to move the block in predetermined paths and thus to remove material from said block, a pair of stops, power means for moving into different operating positions respectively determined by said stops the rub collars at right angles to the axes of the cutters and for holding them in said positions, and a valve for controlling said power means.

4. In a machine for use in the manufacture of shoes, a-

fixed frame, -a cutter rotatable in said frame for movement about an axis, a rub collar which is arranged adjacent to the cutter and is movable on said frame for movement toward and away from the axis of rotation of the cutter taneous movement about two axes which are parallel and one of which is movable with relation to the other to allow the pattern traversingly to engage the rub collar whereby to move the heel block with relation to the cutter in a predetermined path to trim a desired amount of material from the heel block in accordance with the setting of the rub collar, and power means for moving the rub collar with relation to the cutter between said two different ac tive operating positions, said power means comprising a cylinder, a plunger which is operatively connected to the rub collar and is mounted for movement in the cylinder, stop members adjustably mounted upon the plunger and adapted successively to engage the cylinder, and means for initially eifecting adjustment of the cylinder and the plunger with one of the stops mounted on it in engage,

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